Anyone with real experience with NXR ranges? It's a made-in-china pro-style range. We're doing some upgrades in our house but don't have the dough for a full remodel, and although I cook a lot and would like a nice pro-style range it's just not in the cards right now. So it's a nicer mall model (<$2k) or... maybe the $2k NXR 30".

Reviews on the home sites are spotty--no one seems to have had a bad experience but there's a lot of skepticism (and snobbery) and people who bought them seem a little too invested in defending them vs. giving a real review. Anyone?

A client refurbishing one of Oakland's Albert Farr mansions insisted on purchasing a commercial stove that is uninsulated. With such a stove, building code typically requires that certain minimum clearances be maintained between the stove and combustible materials. Under the mechanical portion of the California Building Code, these requirements are as follows: 18" clearance at each side, 48" at the front, 48" overhead, and 18" at the rear. Even with the generous size of the kitchen ... those clearances added unforseen difficuties to the plan layout. In the end we had a restaurant supply build stainless steel covered insulation panels (about 3 1/4" thick) to be installed at the sides and rear.

If the brand you are considering offers an insulated model (and most do), buy it.